On This Day: Leicester win Premier League title

| 02 May 2021

On This Day: Leicester win Premier League title

The Foxes had almost been relegated from the top flight the previous season.

Leicester completed one of the most remarkable stories in sport on this day in 2016 when they were crowned top-flight champions for the first time in their 132-year history after Tottenham drew 2-2 at Chelsea.

The Foxes had started the campaign with odds of 5,000-1 of them winning the Premier League, having almost been relegated the season before, but they lost just three league games en route to a fairytale triumph.

It was an unforgettable journey to the top of English football for a club who only five years previously had finished 10th in the Championship.

Leicester City. Champions of England. pic.twitter.com/WRwfysTn2N

— Leicester City (@LCFC) May 2, 2016

The £1million signing of Fleetwood striker Jamie Vardy – a record for a non-league player – in May 2012 proved an inspired one as he helped the Foxes rise up through the ranks.

After play-off heartbreak in 2013, Leicester secured promotion the following campaign under Nigel Pearson by winning the Championship title with a 102-point total.

However, they looked in danger of an immediate return as during the 2014-15 season they were bottom of the Premier League for 140 days before winning seven of their last nine matches to climb out of the drop zone.

Jamie Vardy proved an inspired signing for the Foxes (Mike Egerton/PA)

A change of management in the summer of 2015 saw Pearson, who had been at the club since 2011, sacked in favour of Claudio Ranieri ahead of the historic 2015-16 season.

Leicester began the campaign with a 4-2 win over Sunderland and suffered just one defeat in their opening 17 matches. In October, Leicester were fifth and, with Vardy becoming the first player to score in 11 successive Premier League matches, the Foxes continued to remain amongst the frontrunners.

Ranieri's side kept their run going and were within touching distance of the title at the start of May.

They were unable to seal their place in history with a win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, drawing 1-1, but were crowned champions the following day when second-placed Tottenham, having been 2-0 up, drew with reigning champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.